Introduction
This is a 60-card Branded Despia deck running the Ishizu cards as a sort of additional engine, alongside an extremely small patchwork package
this write-up assumes you are familiar with the basic play lines of branded decks, so I will only sparsely mention it. If you are not familiar with how it usually plays I suggest doing so, you might at least know how to play against it and maybe even play it yourself (you should it's really fun).
60 cards?!
Now, how come the deck is 60 cards? You might ask, and no it's not because I can't bring myself to cut cards and that the deck ballooned with every new tech I found, that's not the case!
Actually, this list was made with the express purpose of being a 60-card deck.
The biggest problem I found with my previous 40-card branded deck was that it sacrificed a lot of power and play protection for the sake of consistency.
As it's common knowledge branded dies to a single ash, and because ash is more widespread on MD and that we only have one crossout here, this kept happening more than I was happy with.
What did I fill the 20 extra cards with?
Mostly Ishizu cards honestly, they give the deck another axis of interaction and recovery with the shufflers, the millers can improve power by getting shufflers and other cards that like to be in the GY there and can decently often unclog bricky hands by sending Despian Tragedy into the GY.
I also run a much deeper pool of Despia and branded cards, especially GY focused ones, for more flexibility and power!
Because of this critical mass of fairies, I can also run Herald of Orange Light to protect from ash.
How did I keep consistency with 60 cards?
Well, the elites don't want you to know this but, branded fusion might just be the most searchable "fusion" spell ever!
All in all, the deck runs 16 1-card ways to get to branded fusion including branded fusion itself giving you an 80% chance of getting to it, which is on par with most 40-card branded lists.
Most are obvious but I would like to highlight one (or two depending on how you count it)
Some of you might not know this but Instant Fusion can get you to any other fusion spell.
How?
Through this custom card that somehow got printed, Predaplant Ambulomelides!
When Ambulomelides is summoned it can search you any Predaplant monster, so we add Predaplant Bufolicula which is basically just a polymerization every turn, giving us more access to the powerful plays that can afford. But that's not the effect that we need it for.
Its second effect is to tribute a monster on field to special summon from deck a predaplant monster, and you know what that means! Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra, allowing us to add branded fusion!
This is in part why I'm running 60 cards so we see Darlingtonia Cobra in our hand less often.
When summoning Ambulomelids from hard-drawn instant fusion you will usually have to tribute itself, but when you can tribute something else, usually Keeper, you may sometimes go into Predaplant Dragostapelia or even a manual Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon with it on board, an appropriate monster, and Bufolicula in the scale!
But that's not the only thing instant fusion's good for.
Often you will have other ways into branded fusion, in those cases, you can go into
Millennium-Eyes Restrict!
Which can protect you from ash turn 1, or help you break boards!
Keeper of dragon magic, here as the only way to search Instant fusion, tho it can add you branded fusion straight from the deck.
Keeper's discard can also often be more useful than thought, you can send one of the Ishizu cards into the GY, a Despia for branded in red, or any myriad of cards that we play that enjoy the GY.
This is most of the plays you will often use it for, but if you can get Albaz into the GY either with keeper's discard or another way(like millers) you can and should use its second effect. Getting Albaz on the field is more useful than you think, with it you can make Mirrorjade, if you go for the Ambulomelides line, without having to go through branded fusion.
honestly, I did this too infrequently to come up with any other fun lines
Other Notable Techs
I would like to address the heavily truncated patchwork engine.
Unlike other builds, this one doesn't rely on poly to go make its powerful plays, on the account of Bufolicula, but I still wanted access to it in some way to unclog bricky hands and protect Chimera.
truthfully, this is the most sus includ in this deck, I would be very amiable in replacing it.
Now a rapid-fire Techs
Shaddoll Dragon -- for getting rid of floodgates like skill drain with branded fusion
Branded Retribution -- for dealing with runick mostly + it can shuffle back fusions like Albion and gets you a Branded Spell/trap from GY
Albion the Shrouded Dragon -- an upstart that can send Branded Opening to protect your fusions or branded retribution
Predaplant Verte Anaconda -- I found it very useful against stun decks
El Shaddoll Winda -- theoretically good never made it
Fairy Tail - Snow -- not even a tech just the best send for branded fusion if you got Ad Libitum in GY or hand
Why no That Grass Looks Greener?
honestly, it probably should be here, when I was originally making the deck it had fewer GY effects so I felt it wasn't worth it + I didn't feel like spending the UR dust. Only during the making of this write up I started to reconsider.
if anyone tries it tell me how it is!
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